Thread by @nycsouthpaw

I took a train down to Alexandria last week to watch a couple days of the Manafort trial. Yahoo News asked me to write about it. And I did. Then they asked me to publish it under my real name. And I agreed to. yahoo.com/news/3-missing…

Figure a bit of an FAQ is in order and I’ll get to that in a moment. First, quite a few people—my family, friends, colleagues, sometimes rivals—knew and kept this secret far longer than I had any right to expect. I’m grateful to them all and honored by their faith and kindness.

Ok, FAQ: My first name really is quite similar to my last. The name has been passed from father to son in my family for 8 generations (I know). I practiced 9y in biglaw, but resigned end of 2017 to work on a project of my own which remains undisclosed for now. I am left handed.

Why do this now? It wasn’t an easy decision. I really like pseudonymity. It allows you to be—or at least delude yourself into thinking you are—judged on your words and the content of your ideas rather than credentials or social connections. I’ll miss that.

+ The original purpose of the pseudonym was to be a stronger version of the “views are not those of my employer” disclaimer you see in so many bios. That rationale didn’t exist anymore. And increasingly being pseudonymous was an impediment to reaching a broader audience.

Two more things.

-a link I’ve wanted to post for years (but that I don’t truly expect anyone to read). My law review note: scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewconten…

-having self-doxxed, it’s only right that I self-milkshake duck (in a way): I spent one summer as a WH intern in... 2006. 😐

whut

Richard Westling brought up the lack of testimony from Steve Calk and David Fallarino in closing arguments at the Manafort trial this afternoon (along with 3 other names, none of them Yohai). In rebuttal, Greg Andres asked jurors "does anyone think we need more witnesses?"